Together Once More
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: Follow-up sequel to "Empire Knights and the Council of Six." Four years into their odd long-distance relationship since unexpectedly falling in love and helping save the world, Kamiizumi gets an unexpected visit from Arganan. (no tabs for Nobutsuna Kamiizumi)


Author note: I don't own Bravely Default/Second, nor do I own The Last Story.

Warning: I highly recommend you read "Empire Knights and the Council of Six" first before reading this one, as this fic contains an established relationship of Nobutsuna Kamiizumi/Count Arganan and there will be lots of referring back to the previous fic throughout this one.

Other warnings: The Last Story spoilers, Bravely Default and Second spoilers, takes place post-Bravely Second and post-The Last Story with a lot of canon-divergence (again, read "Empire Knights and the Council of Six" for details).

I hope you all enjoy reading the fic!

* * *

_**Together Once More **_

Summary: Follow-up sequel to "Empire Knights and the Council of Six." Four years into their odd long-distance relationship since unexpectedly falling in love and helping save the world, Kamiizumi gets an unexpected visit from Arganan.

* * *

"Lucius Arganan," Nobutsuna Kamiizumi stated, looking the visitor in the eye, "what the hell have you done now?"

The (now-former) Count of Lazulis couldn't help but laugh, looking him right back in the eye. He only had the one eye, at least as far as Nobutsuna knew from knowing him all this time. The other one was long gone. Same went for his full left arm and lower left leg, too, replaced by prosthetics.

"Well," Arganan looked around, then looked Nobutsuna in the eye, "I've dropped in for a surprise visit. I hope it's not a bad time?"

Nobutsuna could only smile, shake his head. "It's perfect timing, actually. We just defeated an evil god last month."

"What!?"

Nobutsuna could only still smile at his companion's shocked expression. "It's a long story."

This wasn't the first time the former Count of Lazulis visited Nobutsuna in Luxendarc. Ever since the end of the war against the Gurak in Lazulis, as well as cleaning up the mess with Airy and Ouroboros in Luxendarc, Nobutsuna knew that there was still one thing remaining—his and Arganan's relationship. It was the one thing that _really_ kept the two worlds knowing of the other's existence well, other than Therius and Asthar's initial entering Eternia that spurred everything that happened leading to Arganan and Kamiizumi getting together of course, ontop of trying to see if trade routes could be formed between the two worlds.

But Asthar and Therius hadn't really gone back to Luxendarc since the whole situation, given that they were busy with their own duties in Lazulis and also because they didn't exactly want to be in too-close contact with Braev after all that happened. Arganan himself was only free to come to Luxendarc whenever he could borrow Asthar's medal, which wasn't often despite no longer officially ruling Lazulis Island (Calista took sometime after the war against the Gurak ended) due to Asthar still keeping it with him from time to time (after all, it was Asthar's medal first).

This was, probably, the oddest relationship Kamiizumi was in. _Definitely _long-distance and definitely strange and unexpected (the two fell for each other in a matter of _weeks,_ and during a _war_ of all times). It took a while for Braev and Mahzer to understand that the Swordmaster was in love with a man from a completely different world from theirs, and it was also weird to hear of how fast they got together overall. Edea Lee had the hardest time getting her head wrapped around it, and whenever Arganan did come to visit and Kamiizumi ended up snogging him upon arrival, he always noticed Edea looking the other way or awkwardly staring.

Their relationship was admittedly a little awkward, given all the factors. But at least it was a good one, and they were glad about that. It was at least over five months, since their past date, and both were glad to see each other again.

"So," Kamiizumi asked, both him and the former Count of Lazulis (former because Calista officially took over as Countess after the war against the Gurak, and then proceeded to marry Zael) heading towards Kamiizumi's house, "What have I missed since I last saw you? How is everyone? Therius and Asthar? Calista?"

"Therius and Asthar are fine. They're travelling back and forth between Lazulis and the Empire's mainland, but they visit frequently enough." Arganan smiled faintly. "My niece and Zael just had a child—two, in fact. Twins. A boy and a girl." He chuckled at that, closing his good eye for a moment. "The castle's a lot louder now."

"Really?" Kamiizumi chuckled, smiled as he imagined it. "They must keep you busy."

"Looking after both children currently falls to me, when Zael and Calista are occupied with long meetings and such. I don't mind." A sigh escaped his lover, before he continued. "I'm not Count anymore, so I have a lot more time on my hands in that way. I am still helping Calista get adjusted to being Countess, but she's doing a fine job so far."

The Swordmaster suddenly thought of his own child, and realized he should probably tell Arganan the news. "Speaking of children…"

Arganan blinked, looking to him completely. "What is it?"

"I…probably should've told you this a little earlier, but I have a daughter. Her name is Minette Napkatti, and—"

Cue Arganan staring him in the eye. "You _what?"_

The Swordmaster swallowed. "Let me explain—" Nobutsuna started, but Arganan cut in, jaw nearly dropping.

"You have a daughter and you never told me until now? Since when?"

"Since literally over two weeks ago." Nobutsuna quickly explained. "Same with Bismarck."

"Bisma—?"

"He's a lion. I adopted him and her at the same time."

"Oh my god." The Count could hardly believe his own ears. "You adopted a lion and a little girl two weeks ago and you didn't tell me until now? Not even a letter?"

The Swordmaster could only sigh. "To be fair, we also had to stop the end the world _again_, on top of that, so I didn't have spare time to write you one. I'm sorry I didn't tell you until now."

Arganan lowered his gaze from Nobutsuna, then looked up at him again, taking a deep breath as he put the pieces together. "First Tsubaki, now _a lion and a girl_." A chuckle escaped him. "For some reason, that seems…very like you."

He'd noticed the Swordmaster's fondness for felines during their past few dates, and it only seemed to increase after Tsubaki permanently joined the Swordmaster's side.

"I know." He offered him a smile. "I know it's a lot to take in."

"And, for the love of the Outsider," Arganan shook his head, groaning, "Why do all the evil gods end up trying to destroy your world? What's next, god number three?"

"Crystals, I hope not. Two was more than enough." The Swordmaster shuddered. "Remind me to never trust fairies. For some reason, they always bring about the evil gods."

The former Count almost swore. "Why is it always _fairies?"_

"I have no clue." Kamiizumi shrugged as they made it to the front door of his house, and he quickly took out the house key. "Perhaps it's something we shouldn't linger on."

Unlocking the door, Kamiizumi let Arganan walk into the house first, before going inside himself and closing the door behind him. "Minette?" Kamiizumi called. "I'm home! I brought a visitor—come say hello!"

A little cat girl came running into view, holding a ball of yarn in her hands. "Minette says hi!"

Arganan had to stare. "She speaks in third person."

Kamiizumi nodded. "Yes. Sometimes. She also can communicate with cats, too."

That made sense, Arganan guessed. Why else did she look like a cat, with the overall outfit she had on? If she didn't move, he would've mistaken her for one of those plush cat toys one say in Artisan's way; soft and admittedly cute.

"Mew are you?" Minette asked, and Arganan realized he hadn't introduced himself.

"I'm Arganan." He managed. She stared at him, and he sighed. "Your father's lover."

"Ohhhhh." Minette stared up at him, and Arganan wasn't sure how to

Kamiizumi chuckled a bit. "I've told her only a little bit about you. Maybe you two can chat a bit while I prepare some tea?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

Eventually Arganan moved into the living room area of Kamiizumi's house, with Minette curling up in the corner of the couch and immediately catnapping. Arganan opted for an armchair that looked a little worn, but still cozy enough for him to use. Looking around the room, he realized that the place was sparsely decorated (unless you counted the little heater in the corner as a decoration).

Arganan knew Kamiizumi was not a man of extravagant wealth; he didn't grow up in a castle like he did, and he prefer simplicity, but this place could honestly use some decorating. Then again, it would probably be hard to decorate if you were often away from home to train new pupils in the way of the blade for a good portion of the day, and then worry about feeding a lion, a cat and your daughter the moment you got home. Made a lot of sense why this place would just look simple and clean.

A meow caught his attention, and he turned his head to see an orange tabby cat staring up at him.

"Tsubaki?" The former Count watched as Tsubaki climbed onto the armchair, managing to seat itself on the right arm of it as it stared up at him. "Wasn't expecting you to be awake."

The cat meowed right back at him. That was when he heard a rumbling purr up ahead, and he looked past the cat to see a lion staring at him from the corner, with groggy eyelids and a yawn, before the lion closed its eyes again.

"So, I see you met Bismarck."

Arganan looked up to see Kamiizumi enter the room, a tray of cookies and tea in his hands. He placed it on the low coffee table between the chair Arganan sat in and the other cozy chair opposite him, before sitting down in said opposite chair. A smile made its way to Kamiizumi's face as his gaze flickered to Bismarck, and then Tsubaki and Arganan. "I hope he doesn't scare you too much. He can be slightly antsy, around new visitors."

"He only yawned." Arganan reassured him. "As long as he doesn't eat me, I think I'm fine."

"He won't." Kamiizumi passed him a cup of tea, and the former Count gratefully took it. Kamiizumi picked up his own cup, taking a sip before speaking again. "So, is there anything you want to talk about?"

Arganan swallowed. "Actually," He started, hoping he didn't sound too hoarse, "The reason I came was…I was wondering if we could talk. About our relationship."

Kamiizumi's brows furrowed. He wasn't angry, as far as Arganan knew. It took a lot more than something like that to get him angry. "What about it? Is there something troubling you?"

"It's just…" Arganan pushed a few bangs out of his face, before looking him in the eye. "I was wondering—we've been together for, what, several years?"

"Almost four years, now." Kamiizumi noted. "Is there something more you want? Other than what we have right now?"

The arrangement wasn't bad, not by any means. They both had their own commitments to their loved ones and respective worlds where they came from, and they understood that rather quickly (especially in Kamiizumi's case where all things fairy-related usually meant catastrophic events almost happening). But Arganan would be lying if he said it didn't get a little grating over time.

"I think it's the back-and-forth travelling that gets to me." The former Count looked down at his own hands on the table, then up at Kamiizumi again. "At first I didn't mind the long distance, but it's getting harder for me to be away from you for so long at a time." He didn't hear Kamiizumi say anything, so he continued. "I don't think I want to wake up the next day, realize I'm too-urgently needed at Lazulis to have to rush back, or after a week or two. Maybe a few months at a time, sure, but every day? It's hard. And I don't know how much longer I can sustain that."

Kamiizumi took Arganan's hand in his, brushing his thumb against the back of his hand. "It's hard for me, too. I actually feel the same way, if that reassures you."

Arganan squeezed his hand. "You do?"

"Of course I do." Kamiizumi swallowed, looked down at their hands, then up at Arganan's eye. "You…when I met you, when we started falling for each other, I realized how much being by your side felt. You literally saved my life twice back then, and it was comforting, being with you in general."

Arganan chuckled. "We literally fought in the beginning."

"True, we did." Kamiizumi cracked a smile at that, remembering a time when he burst into the former Count's office in nothing but a dressing gown. It was rather ridiculous, looking back on it, even if the situation was urgent at the time. "But like you mentioned earlier, the whole back-and-forth is taking a toll on me. Especially when we can't see each other for long periods of time."

"So we're in agreement about this issue?"

"Yes. What do you want to do to fix that? What do you think we should do?"

"Other than visit more often? I'm not sure." Arganan squeezed Kamiizumi's hand again, looked him in the eye. "I really want to make this work. I really do. But how do we do this? Together?"

Kamiizumi squeezed his hand, a soft sigh escaping him. He paused, looking away from Arganan, and then towards him, before speaking. "I'm glad you brought this up, actually. Because I was thinking of asking you if you'd consider the two of us having our own place to live. Settling down."

Arganan's gaze snapped towards him. He thought his heart skipped a beat at the last two words. "Do you mean…?" _Is he actually implying…?_

The Swordmaster couldn't help but chuckle. "I _know _it's soon. And I don't have a ring on me to get on a knee with right now. But I do adore you. I'd like for us to be together, not have to worry so much about when the next time we'll see each other is. Live together."

Arganan looked towards the sleeping Bismarck, then Tsubaki, then towards the corner where Minette was also napping. "You know this would legally make us both fathers of a lion, cat and cat girl."

"Yes, and I love all three of them already. And I know it might seem sudden to Minette, Bismarck and Tsubaki, but I think the four of you will get along."

"You literally adopted two of them just last month and I literally just met your daughter." Arganan was more familiar with Tsubaki, given that the last time he visited, Tsubaki was already by Kamiizumi's side. They'd bonded a bit since then.

"I know." Kamiizumi's ears reddened a little. "I know. I'm not good at the whole timing thing."

"From two to four, and now you want a _fifth_ member of the family." Arganan couldn't help but laugh a little. "Not like I'm much better, of course."

Falling in love in literally two weeks certainly showed how bad both were at timing.

"The question," Kamiizumi murmured, keeping his voice low so only Arganan can hear "Is how we're going to figure this out. The wedding is one thing, and same with you and Minette getting along, though I think you two will be fine, but…what about living arrangements? Do you think we should try finding a space for just ourselves, first?"

Arganan looked towards the cats. "You think we should have our own place?" He thought of Calista, of Zael. "It might be a while before we can actually get to that. Calista's still adjusting to being Countess in Lazulis, and then there's the twins she has…"

"I'm not saying we withdraw from our commitments to our families and loved ones in our respective worlds." The Swordmaster clarified."I just think that…it would be nice to have our own place instead of being apart so much. If we have to go attend to the duties we have, we will, but if we had our own home, we at least have a place for just each other and our family."

"The teleportation between worlds might be an issue." Arganan managed. He swallowed, thinking of Asthar's medal. He took it out, holding it out for Kamiizumi to see. "Maybe I can find a way to get the stone part out of the medal. The part that made him and me able to travel here in the first place."

"That could work." Kamiizumi hummed a bit, before taking something out of the folds of his kimono. Arganan looked down at Kamiizumi's palm to see a small, near-transparent stone. "During the whole past time against the second evil fairy I mentioned earlier, this stone used to belong to the former Pope, Agnes. It broke into several shards, and but the power of communicating with others who had said stone still worked. Maybe you can chip off a bit of it and see if it works?"

"It might." Arganan put the medal away. "It might be worth a shot. Definitely would help us both get to each other more often." He then sighed. "And maybe _certain_ people might be more understanding of us wanting our own time."

A small smile appeared on Kamiizumi's face. "Perhaps. And hopefully your niece won't walk in on us kissing anytime soon, hm?"

Arganan groaned, cheeks flushing just slightly. Just a bit, as he averted his gaze from the Swordmaster. "Let's hope it doesn't happen again."

Kamiizumi laughed, leaned towards Arganan to kiss him on the cheek. "Agreed. So, what do you think?"

"Of marrying you?" Arganan paused, his good eye gazing into Kamiizumi's own. He took a deep breath, before he felt a soft smile spread across his face. _"Yes,_ I'd love that. Marrying you, that is."

"Thank Crystals." Kamiizumi leaned in to give him a peck on the lips, and he heard Arganan chuckle. "I thought you might say no."

"I don't see why I _shouldn't_ say no. As I said before, I do adore you. And I want something a bit more permanent,_ especially_ if it's with you." Arganan knew he and Kamiizumi both had comfort in having some sort of stability. Previous involvement in wars, in great conflicts, made them want nothing more than to just have some peace (preferably for longer than a few months at a time). And to be together, at least more often than now.

Kamiizumi leaned in to give him another kiss. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

Arganan gave him a kiss in return, then smiled. "Every time."

Together they were, once more, and they weren't about to let go of each other too soon this time. Not now. Not ever.


End file.
